Newborn

Sure, I’ve thought about just having another little one, why not, you’ve done it once and I TOTALLY get why people have children close together; but me personally I do not think I’m strong or selfless enough. But then there’s Alexis, although she may be skeptical, she is going to rock this! She is so laid back and relaxed that living in the mountains and taking it easy with 2 little ones sounds beautiful and manageable. I cannot wait to meet this new little babe and know that their family is ready, because ready or not here comes number 2.

“Two under two…
We are doing it! I wish I could say I am mentally, physically, socially, and any other way ready – but no. I wish I could say I’m calm & prepared – but no. Don’t get me wrong, I have diapers, wipes, & burp clothes about every 30 feet all over our house! I’ve read blogs & got sucked into too many ‘How do I survived 2 under 2’ articles on Pinterest. We are as ready as we are going to get. But it’s different this time around. Instead of focusing on the baby, like I did the first time around, I’m focused on how do I include my first born & try not to piss him off by rocking his world. I love my husband & all, but as a stay at home mom my son is my best friend. Fact. We do everything together! I’m just hoping he likes me half as much as I love him. Thankfully my husband is the calm, cool, and collected one. He calmly states how we can do this & we’ll figure it out, like we did the first time around. I believe him, most of the time, either way it’s nice to hear.”

Meet Sam, mother to sweet Nora and truth-teller. We try to know what to expect as parents, but let’s face it, WE DON’T KNOW! There aren’t enough books in the world, blogs on the internet or people whispering in your year to understand the magnitude of what is coming with your first little one, but knowing it’s all going to change, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute that is the joy and frustration of parenthood!

“It took me only a few months of motherhood to realize that one of the cardinal rules of parenting is expect unpredictability–everything changes all the time. This can be profoundly reassuring when you are in one of those awful feedback loops, such as when your child only naps while you’re holding her, or she won’t nap at all, or she screams the entire time she is riding in the car, because it means that just when you’re at your wit’s end (or maybe beyond it), she will grow out of it. But unfortunately it applies to the good times too. When you’re in one of those easy(ish) phases where you’ve got a schedule and things are running fairly smoothly, don’t get too comfortable, because sooner or later the rug will be pulled out from under you. You’ll travel and the sleep schedule will evaporate. Your baby will start teething. Mercury will be in retrograde. Who knows. What I do know is that the nice little routine we’ve got going will fly out the window and crabby will be the order of the day. It’s been sobering to realize how much this unpredictability upsets me–it might be one of my biggest challenges. When my daughter unexpectedly skips naps or wakes up out of sorts or won’t eat anything I make, it throws off our day and puts me on edge and I’m not very good at rolling with it. But I try. Maybe, hopefully, this will be a skill I acquire over time. Recalibrate, adjust, switch gears, and accept the changes in course. Because god knows there will be more. And because the not-knowing is also one of the most beautiful, wondrous things about parenthood. One day it won’t be the frustration that I remember, but the surprise of each new development, each new aspect of her personality revealed. With any luck she’ll remember her mom rolling with it all.”

Meet Julia, Mom of two incredibly beautiful boys. I met Julia when the boys were 7 months old, so I think I caught her in a sweet spot. From the moment I watched her with her boys I have been in awe. Whether you’ve had one or three there are always new surprises that arise, but finding out you’re having two at once can take some time to get used to; nonetheless this woman’s strength and determination is incredible. I am excited she was able to share her story with us!

“There’s two babies in here”, Sharon, the ultrasound technician, told me, quietly and cautiously. “You’re pregnant with two babies. You’re pregnant with twins.”
Silence. That was my response. Silence. I didn’t know what to do.
Thank goodness my husband was in the room. His response was a bit more enthusiastic. “That is AWESOME!”, he exclaimed. Sharon, relieved, said she’s always a bit nervous to give that news, as some parents-to-be don’t react as favorably as my husband just did to learning they’re pregnant with multiples. Now, with 18 month old twin boys, I understand why. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys. They are smart and adventurous and curious and caring. They are also a whole lot of work. I spent many of the first months of their lives exasperated. Everyone told me how lucky I was to have twins, but I didn’t feel lucky at all. Born at 4 pounds, they were the smallest babies I’d ever seen (and apparently the smallest babies our nurse ever cared for – I could have done without that information). They were too weak to latch and too weak to take a bottle. I spent 20 hours a day that first month, just trying to get them to eat. My friends with singletons assured me it was quite normal, they knew what I was going through, and I just needed to “stick with it”. They didn’t know what I was going through! They had no idea. They didn’t know what it felt like, as a new mom, to leave your newborn baby screaming in his crib because your hands were full trying to get your other newborn baby to just take a couple milliliters of milk. Of course I was going to “stick with it”. What other option did I have?
A couple months ago, my husband confessed to me that he was pretty worried those first six months. I went days without showering, without changing my clothes. I didn’t have the energy to eat or drink, and I cried constantly. He thought I’d given up. When I heard that, I burst out laughing. Given up?! Really? Given up? I put everything I had into not giving up! I was in pure survival mode.
Thankfully, everything I had was just enough for all of us to survive those first six months. As the boys got stronger and stronger, I did too. I figured out a way to not only hold both of them at the same time, but to feed them at the same time too. Before I knew it, we all survived the next six months, and we all survived the six months after those too. Dare I say it; we may have even learned to thrive.
Yeah, having twin boys is a whole lot of work, but it’s pretty awesome too.
-Julia-

Ah! Another family that I have had the joy of seeing number 2 welcomed into this beautiful life. And to have 2 under 2, you 2 are rockstars!
How fun for big sister Molly to have this adorable little man to teach all her tricks too.
As much as I adore photographing Jonathan, getting to watch Molly + Dad play was a ton of fun. I know a lot of dads secretly love when their oldest becomes more attached to them after a new little one arrives, and I think that is completely normal to feel that connection even stronger. Documenting them reading and playing is securing that bond that they will have for many more years.
Thank you for having me back again and being able to show you how you love one another.

It’s not fair to look this good after having a baby. end of story.
Delaney is one beautiful little girl and I am so lucky to have met her, a month before her due date. She had some other plans that she didn’t want to let mom and dad in on — but they found out eventually!
Lucky for Mom + Dad they got to love on her a month early, although scary who wouldn’t want to meet their baby 🙂
One of my favorite things about newborn sessions is just getting to learn about people and their families and how they met, where they were married, how they found out they were pregnant — basically I’m fairly nosey. Learning about these things helps me connect to who they are and show that love with their new little one and document it as so.

How much did I love this session? A lot, a lot!
It was a very snowy morning, but we had the most gorgeous lighting coming in on the sweetest little baby Harper.
Watching new parents watch over their little one is insanely heartwarming and makes me feel all those feelings after having a little one.
Getting to document that time and show these two amazing parents how they look when they are in love is an ultimate goal of mine.
Harper is stunning, her parents are loving and those dogs are going to have to get use to a new queen in town 🙂

Oh sweet baby Ruby — I LOVE this name for a little girl! And what a perfect family she has joined.
When I first moved to Colorado, I had the pleasure of photographer her big sister Kenzie when she was born + the joy keeps coming.
I am in awe of their parents, Jamie + Paul really make parenting look fun and easy. They show their girls how to be respectful and kind.

Also award for most organized home with a little one! Thank you for allowing me to follow your journey through parenthood and documenting these precious times!

You know who’s a champ? This family! Remember that snow storm we got in January, well they trucked out in it for photos. I never blame someone for backing out due to horrendous weather, but not them, uh uh, no way.
I’m so grateful they made it over so I could meet this chunky little guy! I mean look at the muscles on this baby!
His big brother, Ian is incredibly loving on him and has one of the biggest smiles I have ever gotten from a little guy by sometimes doing nothing at all! ha! I’m sure they are going to be fast friends and stir up plenty of trouble together. But until then, we will just keep photographing their sweet innocence.
I believe that to be a huge part of photos for parents, remembering these times so you can look back when sometimes your kids aren’t acting exactly as you taught them 😉

Ok, I get it; I’m so beyond behind in blogging, it’s embarassing.
Well you know what?!
I don’t know, I have no excuses. But here I am a brand new blogger!

This was my first session of 2017 + a lovely one at that!

Big sister, Charlie is one of the best, she has such a big vocabulary and I really loved watching her take care of her little brother. These two have a beautiful bond already.
I absolutely love watching families grow and documenting these quiet, simple moments as a new family of four.
Thank you Sabrina + Dan for having me in your home and allowing me to show you how beautiful your love is for one another.